DIERKS, Ark. (AP) — Officials in the southwest Arkansas town of Dierks are seeking quicker ambulance service.
Archie "Cotton" Cothren, a Howard County justice of the peace who lives in Dierks, says it takes 25 minutes for an ambulance to arrive in the town.
The town had a volunteer ambulance service but it disbanded about 10 years ago. The town is served by an ambulance service in Nashville, which has an exclusive contract.
The Texarkana Gazette reports that Cothren wants the Howard County Ambulance Service to base an ambulance and crew in Dierks full-time. But the service says call volume won't justify the move.
Cothren says call volume would increase if an ambulance was based in town because people now drive themselves to the hospital rather than wait.
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